Men's basketball drop two close games

After placing second to Bemidji State in the Pepsi Invitational tournament, the Viterbo men's basketball team faced two consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opponents in UW-La Crosse and Platteville. 

On Oct. 24, Viterbo battled for the Alumni Cup against their cross-town rivals, the UW-La Crosse Eagles. The host V-Hawks jumped out to an early lead, resulting in a 32-23 halftime lead. 

The Eagles battled back, however, finally taking a 53-52 lead on a Tony Mane jump shot with just over four minutes left. The teams went back and forth, as Viterbo's Scott Buschman tied it at 59 with 27 seconds to go. In the final seconds though, La Crosse guard Tony Mane struck again. Mane pulled up on the right wing and knocked down a three pointer as time ran out. 

Mane led the Eagles with 30 points, while Scott Buschman led Viterbo with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Ambrose added 14 for the V-Hawks. The difference between the teams was the Eagles' depth, as their bench outscored Viterbo's 17-0. 

Viterbo then hosted the UW-Platteville Pioneers, another strong team from the WIAC. The Pioneers led throughout, as the V-Hawks faced a 5-9 point deficit for most of the contest. A late charge by Viterbo capped by a Nick Stilwell jump shot tied the game at 60 with 23 seconds remaining. Eric Wall put Platteville ahead for good with a layup, however, as Platteville held on for a 62-60 victory.

Buschman again led the V-Hawks with 23 points and 11 rebounds, despite being limited to 27 minutes due to foul trouble. Eric Ambrose contributed 18 points and four steals for Viterbo, which fell to 2-6 on the year with the loss.